Study on online dating

"Thirty million Americans say they know someone who has been in a long-term
relationship or married someone they met online," according to the latest Pew Internet & American Life study, which adds that 60 million "know someone who has at least dabbled in the online dating scene." But online dating isn't all upside. In its coverage of the study, USATODAY report that opinions on Net dating among the 145 million US Internet users in general are an even split: 44% agree "it's a good way to meet people," 44% disagree. But the percentage on the positive side is only growing. "Online daters are generally younger and more likely to be employed," Pew says. The project only surveyed adults, but it was "the youngest cohort (18-29 years old)" that "has the largest percentage of online daters within it." And with the number of teens using social-networking sites (nearly 14 million under 18 on MySpace.com alone), online dating and socializing is quickly becoming part of everyday life. An interesting finding in the Pew report that bears this out is reflected in a chart on p. 20 showing "Dating-Related Activities Online." Maybe social-networking is more for teens and 20-somethings and online dating is more Gen X and older? But wait, there's more: what USATODAY describes as "team online dating," which is like merging Friendster.com and MySpace.com with Match.com and eHarmony.com. "The result? TeamDating and eTwine in the USA and Compa in the UK. Users can sign up in groups of two or more and correspond with other duos, trios or quartets. The goal is to take the two cyber-squads offline, to the promise of mingling - and mating - opportunities."